Landmark ninth-floor restaurant atop the Eaton Centre reopens

Le 9e, the landmark ninth-floor restaurant atop the Eaton Centre in Montreal, officially reopened to the public Friday night, welcoming its first diners. The iconic Art Deco space, classified as a heritage property, has been restored after sitting empty for 25 years. It closed in 1999 when the Eaton’s department store closed, having first opened in 1931.

“This is certainly a love letter to the city and we hope to be part of that iconic resurgence,” says Marco Gucciardi, Director of Operations for Le 9e Productions.

“Everything in here was meticulously preserved and restored and then for us, as restaurant operators, we have nods in everything that we do to the past,” adds Gucciardi.

This reopening reminds good memories to the restaurant’s first guest, Monique L’Heureux: “It’s very much like what I’ve experienced. It it as if we were back in 1931.”

The restaurant Le 9e uses it’s 120-seat restaurant Île-de-France, overseen by Executive Chef Liam Hopkins, to recreate an authentic historical experience. The chef, along with architects and experts, ventured into the past, striving to reignite the classic allure of hospitality.

“We had lots of history to look through. There was the many iterations of menus that came out over the course of the years, the 68 years that the restaurant was initially open. We got to look through some of the recipe books from back in 1931,” says Hopkins.

“We are trying to bring something that’s a little bit casual as much as the space is very luxe, very decadent. We’re trying to keep things on the menu side a little bit lighter and a little more fun,” adds Hopkins.

This new venture promises to offer an experience rich in nostalgia and pleasure, while in a modern and luxurious setting.

“This is a place that has a lot of nostalgia for many Montrealers. We might not be able to bring back the exact same experience and in certain cases, that’s probably for the better” says Hopkins.
“It was happiness, it was beautiful, it was magnificent. I ate here with my family, my children when they were young then,” remembers L’Heureux.